Vickers generates £100m Army deal

Experts at armament specialist Vickers, who believe they have solved the British Army's battlefield problem of hiding from potential enemies while at the same time generating sufficient power to detect and destroy them, have been rewarded with a £100m order from the Ministry of Defence.

The scientists at Vickers Specialist Engines, part of Rolls-Royce, have developed a stealth-type diesel-powered generator that emits low acoustic, thermal and radar signatures in temperatures ranging from the deserts of the Middle East to the Arctic wastes for the MoD's Field Electrical Power Supplies programme.

In the Private Finance Initiative project Vickers will be supplying, over an up-to-20-year period, 1300 of the trailer-mounted generators, which will be towed behind military vehicles. The generators will provide power for guided missile systems, computers, range finders and all the hi-tech equipment used by a modern army.

During recent conflicts around the world involving the British Army there have been criticisms of its ability to provide reliable undetectable power under harsh climatic conditions.

Research teams at Vickers believe their mobile generators will solve these problems. Jim Vickerman, managing director of Vickers Specialist Engines, said: 'FEPS is an excellent product. The MoD contract will provide a solid platform from which to launch our FEPS technology overseas.'